Chapter 57: Once Again Offended Today

“Oh dear, my little darling is about to leave the mountain. I really can’t bear to see you go,” Bai Teng sighed, coiling around Wen Jinge like a snake. Whenever she was in a good mood, she would hang from Wen Jinge as if she were a vine.

“Do you practice yoga?” Wen Jinge asked.

Bai Teng paused, already used to these strange words from her, and quickly brushed it aside. “Little darling, remember to think of me, alright?”

“Goodbye!” Shan Hongxing waved and left.

Wen Jinge was left speechless.

“I don’t have much to give you, so here, take these medicinal herbs.” Fan Zifan, who always claimed to care about money, had gone out of her way to have Liang Si pick these for her. “Don’t let anyone see you. I bet you, the clever merchant, could sell them for a good haul of spirit stones.”

Wen Jinge had no words.

“Senior sister, safe travels,” Ai Fengling said from her wheelchair, her eyes full of envy as she watched Wen Jinge’s disciples. “I won’t give you a gift.”

Song Huan, ever the honest one, squeezed in after Ai Fengling finished. “Senior sister, I won’t give you a present either. I’m broke. If you come across any good books, remember to bring them back for me—I’ll buy them from you!”

Wen Jinge could only sigh inwardly.

“Take care of yourself. Here, take these spirit stones.” Huo Yongfei tossed a storage pouch to Liang Si. “Never mind, better let you hold onto them. If I gave them to your master, she’d probably lose them in a heartbeat.”

“Don’t worry, grand master. I’ll take good care of my master,” Liang Si promised, tucking away the storage pouch. Noticing the hopeful look in her master’s eyes, she relented, “Master, once we leave the mountain, they’re all yours.”

“Good!” Wen Jinge flew off cheerfully.

The disciples were left behind, thoroughly bewildered.

As they were leaving, the gates of Wanzhang Peak were sealed, and with everyone outside the main mountain to see her off, there was little left to explain.

Yuan Qingling was still very young, and Qiao Yu, with his boundlessly compassionate heart, was currently holding his fourth junior brother. “Master, where are we going?”

“Is your grand master awake yet?”

“Still asleep. I doubt he’ll be up any time soon.”

“Oh.” Wen Jinge tapped her forehead. “We left too early. We should have waited a bit longer.”

“Should we go back then, Master?” Wang Xi suggested tentatively, egging her on. “And maybe swindle some more money? We’re always short on funds.”

Wen Jinge shot her a look, then glanced at the nearby Xuan Yun Sect. “Does your master look like someone who’s short on money?”

“No,” Yang Wennan chimed in dutifully, carrying a bundle on his back, looking every bit the wandering traveler.

Wen Jinge rewarded his lack of tact with another glare. “Last night, I observed the stars. My descent from the mountain is a sign that great things are about to happen!”

“Master, hee hee, stop joking,” Yuan Qingling giggled. “Everyone knows you’re just going to help out!”

No sooner had she spoken—

“Help! Help!”

“Help! A demon beast is eating people!”

“It’s eating people!”

And so on.

Wen Jinge’s lips twitched. She glanced up at the sun—the crisp autumn sky, brilliant sunshine, such beautiful weather.

The disciples stared blankly at the sky. The sun was still shining, the heavens hadn’t collapsed, yet they saw their own master running with the crowd, shouting, “Demon beast! It’s eating people! Run!”

The disciples looked at one another. Seeing their senior brother already far ahead, they shouted after him, “Help! There’s a demon beast!”

“Master Xuan! Hoo—help, save us!”

“Young Master Xuan, aren’t you going to save your little brother? Weren’t you all here to rescue us?”

Wang Xi glanced back to see Yuan Qingling left behind, struggling on his tiny legs. “Auntie, huff huff, auntie, how did you know I was of the Xuan Sect?”

“Aren’t you? Didn’t your sect just change uniforms? I even helped embroider them,” the woman replied as she ran, not even out of breath. “Run! You’re just a girl, probably not much help—better to run early.”

Wang Xi looked down. Of course—only her master wasn’t wearing the flying fish robes; the rest of them all wore them.

“Young Master Xuan, you must save us! My child—my child is gone!”

Liang Si glanced at the filthy man beside her and asked calmly, “Where did you lose your child?”

“In the demon beast’s lair!”

“So how did you get out?”

“I—hey, how did I get out?” The man looked confused, but didn’t slow his pace. His tattered clothes seemed to catch fire and crumble to ash as his face morphed, black feathers sprouting until his features became that of a bird. “Tell me, how did I get out?”

“Probably got beaten out,” Liang Si replied, stepping closer as the bird-faced man recoiled in surprise. In that moment’s hesitation, a talisman stuck to his body. “Since you like fire so much, let’s satisfy you with true samadhi flames.”

“How—how did you know?”

“My master never lies to me. If my master runs, I run. But you kept chasing me, so what else could you be but a demon beast?” As Liang Si spoke, she sprinkled some seasoning.

The bird-man was reduced to ashes, petrified.

Liang Si frowned at the wasted spices. “My master hates those who waste food the most.”

After witnessing the senior brother’s efficient demon-slaying, the other disciples realized these demon beasts were merely crying wolf. They immediately turned to fight, but Liang Si, with a few flickers—within the blink of an eye—had talismaned every moving creature.

“Senior brother, you got the wrong person—I’m human,” Yang Wennan protested.

“I don’t care. If a little demon could fool you, no wonder Master only lets you wander near the sect. She tells you to run, and you just stand there—do you not understand a word she says?”

Wang Xi and Yuan Qingling: Today, we’re once again deeply offended!

Fortunately, Wang Xi recovered first. “Where’s Senior Brother Qiao Yu? He’s gone missing.”

“Young Master Xuan, what are you doing? We’re decent folk, you know!”

“You’re decent? Well, I’m the in-law,” Liang Si replied, opening a storage pouch and shaking out the still-sleeping Green Sand Beast. “Come out, time for a snack.”

“Snack?” The Green Sand Beast sniffed the ground nervously, eyeing the dozen talismaned people. “I don’t eat people.”

“You can’t even tell the difference between people and demons?”

“They’re all people, not a single demon,” the beast insisted. “Truly, there are no demons.”

“Go sniff that pile of ash and see what happened.” The mention gave Liang Si a headache. This wasn’t the mountain, his own cultivation wasn’t high, and with these burdens in tow, trouble was bound to find them.

“Demon…” The Green Sand Beast trudged over to the frozen villagers, circled them, and said, “There’s crow aura—yes, it’s a crow’s doppelganger.”

“What kind of doppelganger?”

“A crow. One that breathes fire—it should be a Golden Crow.”

“Master,” Liang Si said, taking out a bracelet specially made for him by Ai Fengling and adjusting it, “I know what it is now. The Green Sand Beast says it’s a Golden Crow.”

“And then?”

“Golden Crows like to collect shiny, beautiful things—they’re rich.”

“Where are you?”

“At the village entrance.” Worried she’d be slow, Liang Si added, “It’s very pretty, black—”

“Black with rainbow colors?”

“Yes.”

“You’re a genius! My precious Si, your master loves you! As soon as I finish off this old beast, I’ll be right there!”